Home Composting Made Easy

Given the numerous benefits composting proffers — which you can read about in depth here — it's a shame most us can't/don't choose to start producing our own compost at home or in the backyard. For people looking to both dispose of their food waste and enrich their soil for gardening purposes, there's no better solution (here are a few choices for home use).

Daily Dump — a new start-up based in Bangalore, India — is taking steps to inculcate a new legion of eco-minded consumers by arming them with the products and knowledge necessary to begin composting at home. Offering a wide range of decorative, biodegradable composting containers (made of terracotta, see the kambha above) and gardening supplies, the company encourages Indian households to manage their waste and convert it into usable, rich compost — its website claims that an average family that regularly cooks could be sitting on a daily supply of as much as 750 - 1500 grams. In addition to the list of supplies and tips it offers — everything from step-by-step guides on how to get started and what composting means to choosing what can and can't be composted — Daily Dump also makes it easier for consumers to start composting by offering a set of service plans for those wary of trying it on their own. These consumers can choose from a weekly, fortnightly or monthly service plan — with a "servicewalla" coming by to clean the pots, add in dry leaves and stir the compost. Though the service is limited to small residential composting, the company has plans to expand its operations into large residential and business composting and eventually hopes to engage in projects tackling large-scale urban environmental issues.

Their ultimate goal is to see the practice expand and take root throughout much of Asia and Africa — fostering the creation of more local start-ups and more locally owned gardens and farms.